Bradenton Beach is one of three cities on Anna Maria Island, and it has its own distinct vibe. The city’s identity has been carefully cultivated by many area businesses under the umbrella of the Bradenton Beach Merchants Association (BBMA), a nonprofit organization devoted to promoting economic vitality in Bradenton Beach while preserving the unique character of the city’s historic Bridge Street area. The business community in Bradenton Beach is a close-knit one, and those bonds have grown even tighter in the wake of Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

Rejane Monetti of Monetti Apparel feels fortunate in the wake of the storms.

REJANE MONETTI OF MONETTI APPAREL FEELS FORTUNATE IN THE WAKE OF THE STORMS.

Derek Williams is the president of the BBMA and the owner of Drift-In AMI. Affectionately known as The Drift, this historic bar on Bridge Street has been a favorite among locals and visitors alike since 1925. This local landmark has a storied past, but perhaps its biggest claim to fame is that for a few years in the late 1930s it was owned by baseball great Babe Ruth. With over four feet of water flooding the building, The Drift had to go through an extensive remediation process on the interior. The exterior was also affected, with the outdoor tiki-style seating area taking on a substantial amount of damage. Williams has used the rebuilding process as an opportunity to make some improvements by creating a larger outdoor venue. Renovations are always challenging, and that’s amplified during a natural disaster when construction requirements are under scrutiny from FEMA and resources are spread thin.

“I want to make sure to give some accolades to Darin Cushing who is the building official in Bradenton Beach and Evan Harbus who is the code enforcement officer,” Williams says. “They’ve been out here working extra hours every day for weeks, doing everything they can to meet all these rules and criteria and help with all of the people who have been displaced. They went above and beyond to try to do their best.”

This sentiment is echoed by Amanda Escobio, the owner of Sea-renity Beach Spa & Bou-Tiki, the only spa on the Island that offers a beachfront massage which takes place in a private tiki hut. The boutique also offers a selection of clothing, jewelry, wellness items and beachy gifts—many by local artists and designers. Businesses in Bradenton Beach are accustomed to pulling together, and in the aftermath of the storm many business owners feel supported by their city.

“The mayor, the chief of police and the city attorney have all gone above and beyond to get Bradenton Beach open for business,” Escobio says. “We’re a very motivated group and we’re lucky enough to have the city support.

With a lot of hard work and elbow grease, Escobio was able to reopen Sea-renity the day before Thanksgiving. Though her beachfront hut did blow away, she was able to offer beachside massages again in time for the Christmas holidays. She owns another business that didn’t fare as well. Body & Sol Spa and Wellness in Anna Maria sustained significant damage—though the structure held, the roof failed entirely. However, Escobio is optimistic that Body & Sol will be able to reopen by March 1, 2025.

Adrienne Cardinale is the co-owner of Shore Thing Tiki Cruises and she’s another person who is vocal in appreciating the efforts of the city, specifically the speed and efficiency with which they approached cleanup after the storms. Not only was there debris strewn everywhere from the hurricane-speed winds, sections of the city were virtually buried under piles of sand. As of December, Cardinale estimated the vast majority had already been cleaned up. “I think the city realized the importance of looking normal,” she says. “We have tourism coming back and nobody wants to be on vacation and see heartbreak.”

Shore Thing is a locally-owned and operated tour boat business with a twist. On a Shore Thing cruise, guests can enjoy a tour of the local waterways, typically spotting dolphins and other wildlife. But the boat itself is just as much of an experience as the ride. The tiki-themed boats have comfortable couches, a covered bar and bathrooms. The boats at Shore Thing made it through the hurricanes relatively unscathed, but that doesn’t mean the business was unaffected. During Milton, a tree toppled over the canal the boats use to access the marina, making it inaccessible. Another marina they use also sustained extensive damage. Their storefront also took on some flooding, though it was minimal at about six inches. But Cardinale hasn’t let her own struggles stop her from bolstering the rest of the community. She was a very active participant in the annual Christmas on Bridge Street event on December 7, an event that brought the community together and recognized local hurricane heroes. 

In the same complex where Shore Thing has a storefront, you can also find Monetti Apparel, a clothing store specializing in fresh and fun beach-ready apparel. Owner and designer Rejane Monetti grew up in Brazil wearing her swimsuit all the time, and creates clothing in swimmable fabric. Monetti was in the process of opening a second store upstairs from her flagship location, but the storms threatened to not only delay those plans but to imperil her existing store. Fortunately, she was able to escape relatively unscathed. Her building sits a little higher on the streets and has floodgates, so while the water got to her door, it didn’t encroach on her space. As a result, Monetti Apparel was the first business in the area to reopen on October 19, 2024. Monetti was also able to open her new store on schedule on November 21. Lourdes Boutique is named after her late mother and features a private line of handcrafted items including apparel and home accessories. Monetti is keenly aware of her good fortune, and wants to help support her neighbors who weren’t so lucky. She has created a collection of items including tote bags, sweaters, hoodies and more, all featuring one of her custom art pieces. Proceeds from these sales will go back to the Bridge Street community. ”

Steve Bishop also owns multiple businesses in Bradenton Beach both impacted by the hurricanes. Island Time Bar and Grill is a casual, open-air bar and patio located on the ground floor that’s open for lunch and dinner. Bridge Street Bistro is in the same building, on the third floor, and offers upscale-casual seafood-centric bistro fare. You might think that the ground floor restaurant would have been hit the hardest, but that wasn’t necessarily the case.

“Our first floor was originally built as a parking garage and so it wasn’t built as a normal first floor,” Bishop explains. “There’s no drywall, there’s no flooring. It’s concrete floors. The electric and plumbing come from the top down and not the bottom up.” Something that did get damaged was the elevator which goes to the third floor, making the bistro upstairs inaccessible to many patrons that are older or mobility challenged. With restaurant attendance down already in the wake of the storm, Bishop decided to focus his efforts on reopening Island Time first, and it was back up and running seven days a week by the first week of November. While the Bistro was closed, Bishop took the opportunity to do some remodeling and lean into a retro vibe reminiscent of the Rat Pack-era. It’s one more example of how Bradenton Beach business owners took a positive approach to rebuilding after the storms.

Photography by Wyatt Kostygan and Wes Roberts